Charter Schools

Arlington charter school will close after losing accreditation
The Jean Massieu Academy in Arlington will close this summer after having its accreditation as a school district revoked, the Texas Education Agency announced Wednesday. [ View Article ] Mar 11, 2010, 08:00

Imagine Schools is on a Roll!
Questions about the management of Imagine Schools in Indiana is no longer confined to the charter schools' Fort Wayne locations. Concerned community members are meeting Tuesday night to discuss concerns at Imagine Indiana Life Sciences Academy East. The Rev. Theron Williams of Mount Carmel Baptist Church called me last week about the meeting. A founding board member of the charter school, he said members of the mostly African American community surrounding the school now believe they have been shut out of a role in its operation. [ View Article ] Mar 9, 2010, 07:07

SENATE INTERIM HEARING - SET FOR MARCH 22nd
Mark your calendars for March 22nd! The Senate Education Committee will meet to discuss Interim Charge 1 regarding the performance and accountability of the state's charter schools. TCSA advocacy staff and the external lobby team has met with Committee staff and continues to give input on the panel structure and testimony. We expect there to be specific issue panels and then ample time for public testimony. The scope of the interim charge includes increasing the number of outstanding charter schools, best practices and how to implement to other charter schools, incentives for public education campuses to become charter schools and options for development and funding of a charter schools facilities program. TCSA will keep you updated on this hearing as we get closer to March 22nd. Click here to read the full list of interim charges (Article from Texas Charter Schools Association) [ View Article ] Mar 1, 2010, 08:15

Republicans Highlight Importance of Effective Charter Schools in Education Reform Efforts
C. � The U.S. House Education and Labor Committee held a hearing today on expanding access to high-quality charter schools, a top priority for the panel�s Republicans as Congress begins exploring potential reforms to federal K-12 education laws. The hearing examined legislation designed to replicate effective charter schools, giving more students access to the choices charter schools offer. Feb 25, 2010, 08:31

Troubled charter school to close
A local charter school rife with academic and financial problems is preparing to close its doors at the end of the school year. The El Paso School of Excellence, established in 2000 as an elementary, middle and high school, has surrendered its charter with the state. [ View Article ] Feb 25, 2010, 07:22

Is there a place for special ed in charter schools?
More than a decade into Texas' charter school movement, some politicians want to expand the nontraditional campuses to tap into an underserved market: children with special needs.One of the state Senate's interim charges, released last month, is to study the feasibility of opening charter schools for students with disabilities such as autism. [ View Article ] Feb 23, 2010, 07:30

O�Connell still mum on principal's firing
GALVESTON � O�Connell College Preparatory School board members met with parents and students Wednesday to alleviate concerns about the abrupt dismissal of the school�s principal late last week. But they continued to decline comment on why Principal Patrick Danesi was fired. As school board members Wednesday continued to battle criticisms from students and parents who accused the board of unilaterally deciding to fire Danesi and hire another principal without gathering input or informing students and parents of the decisions, board President Wayne Mallia said he couldn�t talk about personnel matters because it could lead to a lawsuit against the school. Mallia, who is also the 405th District judge, declined to answer questions about why the board decided to fire Danesi in the middle of the school year and just before softball season. [ View Article ] Feb 18, 2010, 06:20

El Paso Charter School Reportedly Threatened To Be Closed
EL PASO, Texas -- According to the superintendent of the El Paso School of Excellence, a local charter school, the owner of the charter has threatened to take action that would essentially close the school. Superintendent Jack Ammons told KFOX the family that owns the charter has threatened to return the charter back to the state. "If that does happen, and it's official, the school will be closed immediately," said principal Charles Gonzalez. The closure would affect more than 400 pre-K through fifth grade students and would leave 45 employees without a job. "I think being in the unknown zone is just, it's a bit frustrating," said first grade teacher Rigoberto Mendez. Ammons recently closed the El Paso School of Excellence middle school because of low attendance. He said there were 35 students enrolled in the middle school. [ View Article ] Feb 15, 2010, 08:12

CHARTER FIRST FRIDAYS KICKS-OFF IN HOUSTON
Houston, Texas � State Representative Scott Hochberg joined students from SER-Ni�os Public Charter School in kicking-off a new statewide school tour initiative called Charter First Fridays, the Texas Charter Schools Association (TCSA) announced today. This series of monthly charter school open houses created by TCSA and the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools invites community members to tour and learn about public charter schools. TCSA Executive Director David Dunn said, �The more people know about charters, the more they like them. We�re honored to begin Charter First Fridays in Texas. Today, the spotlight is on SER-Ni�os and their leader Charmaine Constantine. SER-Ni�os is a terrific example of an effective and quality-driven charter school. Throughout the rest of this year, Charter First Fridays will help create regular opportunities for members of the public to visit charter schools and get involved in the national movement.� �Across the nation, high-quality charter schools are providing families and children with an education that was not available to them 18 years ago. In cities like Houston, Dallas, and Austin, charter schools are working to close the achievement gap and transform children�s lives. Still, most people have never seen these inspiring public schools in action,� said National Alliance for Public Charter Schools President and CEO Nelson Smith. [ View Article ] Feb 12, 2010, 07:28

Politics of public education reform - exploring Race to the Top�s charter school emphasis
President Obama�s Race to the Top (RttT) state competition has brought charter schools to the forefront of public education reform. Additionally, charter schools are prominent in Obama�s 2011 proposed budget � increasing funding for charter schools and an extra $1.8 billion toward Supporting Student Success (which focuses on Promise Neighborhoods, of which charter schools are the central focus). [ View Article ] Feb 8, 2010, 08:31

Imagine MASTer Academy: On Probation
Looks like things aren't all red and rosy for Dennis Bakke's Imagine Schools. The Imagine MASTer Academy, which has already been through its fair share of scandals, has finally been placed on probation. Ball State University, the sponsor of the school, practically admits they were oblivious to the problems at Imagine, claiming most schools with good test scores rarely have governance issues (might want to double-check that line of thinking, folks). Readers should note that none of this would have happened without the fine work of the Journal Gazette and a few knowledgeable citizens [ View Article ] Feb 4, 2010, 06:30

Island a charter school laboratory
After Hurricane Ike, Galveston became a laboratory for those who are interested in charter schools. Across the state, 3 percent of the students in public schools are in charter schools. In Galveston, that number exceeds 10 percent. If the Legislature removed the cap on the number of charters the state will grant, the percentage of students in charter schools in Galveston would be even higher. At the two independent charter schools on the island � Odyssey Academy and Ambassadors Preparatory Academy � the waiting lists of children hoping to attend are long. The lists of those waiting are about as long as the lists of those enrolled. The two independent charter schools have had spectacular results academically. [ View Article ] Feb 1, 2010, 07:45

Charter Churn
At some charter schools in Texas, it�s the teachers who can�t wait to clear out at the end of the school year. At Accelerated Intermediate Academy in Houston, 79 percent of the faculty turned over before the 2008-09 school year, according to recently released state data. At Peak Preparatory in Dallas, 71 percent did not return. At Harmony Science Academy in College Station, part of Harmony�s nine-school statewide network, 69 percent of teachers split. (Officials at all three schools did not respond to requests for comment.) [ View Article ] Jan 27, 2010, 08:31

Burke Center charter school postponed until economy improves
The Burke Center Board of Trustees decided to postpone the creation of a charter school for troubled juvelines during a meeting Tuesday afternoon. According to spokeswoman Susan Rushing, startup funds exist for the facility, which would have operated out of Peavy Switch, but current economic conditions have resulted in a lack of funding for the future. Ongoing support would have come from a combination of federal and local dollars toward each child's daily care. "This is not the right economic environment," Rushing said. However, Rushing pointed out, the project is not canceled and should be considered on hold until ongoing funding is more secure [ View Article ] Jan 27, 2010, 08:20

San Antonio: SAISD exploring charter school increase
When James Aden relocated here from Berkeley, Calif., he wanted to live near downtown and he wanted his children in good schools, so he moved into the coveted Alamo Heights school district. But Aden toured a school there and decided he wanted something more for his kids � including a measure of diversity he felt was lacking at his neighborhood school. Now Aden's kids attend Hawthorne Academy, a district-run charter school in the San Antonio Independent School District that is open to students who live outside the district boundaries. [ View Article ] Jan 27, 2010, 07:44

Charter school funds, employee vanish
Leaders of KIPP San Antonio, a branch of one of the most successful charter school programs in the country, are reeling after learning a former employee may have embezzled tens of thousands of dollars from the school district's accounts. According to KIPP board member Michele Brown, a member of the district's financial operation's team who was working from home last Thursday stopped returning ... [ View Article ] Jan 15, 2010, 07:45

Frisco church plans charter school
Elevate Life Church in Frisco could become home to a new charter school for students in grades kindergarten to 12. Church officials announced Sunday that a nonprofit group has launched an effort to create "Leadership Prep School," a charter school that would be on church grounds and could begin operating in 2011. [ View Article ] Jan 12, 2010, 07:50

Just How Private are Charter Schools?
There's been a concerted effort by the pro-charter crowd to "educate" the public about the so-called publicness of charter schools. You'll regularly see "charters" referred to as "public charter schools" these days, and don't think this slight change in label was accidental. The variety, quality, and types of charter schools - from your blatantly for-profit EMOs like the Edison Schools, the assortment of no excuses charter chaingangs like KIPP, rather progressive versions like the Big Picture schools, "mom and pop" charters started and run by legitimate teachers, and a number of other different types - makes this field more complicated than it first appears. Given the variety of changes during the Bush years (and extending back towards Reagan), the whole privatization and for-profit thing has gotten a bad reputation (deservedly so), particularly given the whole Wall Street collapse '08, America's high poverty rate, and the vast disparities in income and access to resources. " [ View Article ] Jan 7, 2010, 08:31

Just How Private are Charter Schools?
There's been a concerted effort by the pro-charter crowd to "educate" the public about the so-called publicness of charter schools. You'll regularly see "charters" referred to as "public charter schools" these days, and don't think this slight change in label was accidental. The variety, quality, and types of charter schools - from your blatantly for-profit EMOs like the Edison Schools, the assortment of no excuses charter chaingangs like KIPP, rather progressive versions like the Big Picture schools, "mom and pop" charters started and run by legitimate teachers, and a number of other different types - makes this field more complicated than it first appears. Given the variety of changes during the Bush years (and extending back towards Reagan), the whole privatization and for-profit thing has gotten a bad reputation (deservedly so), particularly given the whole Wall Street collapse '08, America's high poverty rate, and the vast disparities in income and access to resources. " [ View Article ] Jan 7, 2010, 08:31

Charter schools deserve equitable funding
In the last three years, I have had the opportunity to work with and watch grow a dynamic Galveston charter school, Ambassadors Preparatory Academy. To begin, a charter school is a public school. Charter schools do not charge tuition and are held accountable for academic and financial performance just as public school districts. [ View Article ] Jan 7, 2010, 08:15

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